Shingle



March 22,1938. s. P. MILLER ET A1. 1,

SHINGLE Filed A rii 9, 1936 \NVENTOR S 'fuar 7 F. Miller Marsfan L. #am/in ATTORNEY Y Patented Mar. 22, 1938 UNlTED STATES FATE SHINGLE Hamlin, Lynbrook, Barrett Company,

poration of New Jersey Application April 9, 1936, Serial No. 73,422

7 Claims.

3 This invention relates to shingles and more particularly to flexible shingles of the interlocking type and to their application to a roof without buckling or otherwise. distorting-them;

An object of this invention is to provide a selfaligning shingle which may be out without substantial waste and rapidly and easily laid in widespaced, interlocking relation with other similar shingles without damage by buckling or otherwise distorting the weather portion of the shingle. The shingle includes a generally rectangular body of saturated, coated and surfaced felt base material having a pair of looking slits extending inwardly from its transverse edges adjacent 'the lower edge of the shingle and with a pair of locking notches extending into the transverse edges above the locking slits.

The locking notches are so constituted that the slits of the shingle can be securely interlocked with locking notches of spaced shingles of an underlying course during application to the roof without buckling or otherwise distorting the portion of the shingle to be exposed to the weather.

This feature makes it possible to lay the shingles with great rapidity and consequentlyplaces them in a favorable competitive position with looking shingles of the same general type which cannot be so laid. Since the cost of applying shingles is a considerable part of the cost of the finished roof, the design of the locking device of the present shingle to permit increased speed of application is an important factor in its commercial practicability.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, I

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a shingle illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of a roof formed by laying the shingles of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view showing how the shingles are laid;

Fig. 4 a cutting diagram illustrating a method which may be employed in cutting the shingles" from a roofing base; and

Fig. 5 is a plan view illustrating a modified embodiment of the invention.

The shingle comprises a body portion ll) of generally rectangular shape having parallel upper and lower edges II and I2. The transverse edges of the shingle include parallel portions l5, l6 adjacent the upper edge H and parallel portlonsl'i, l8 adjacent the lower edge I2. Locking slits 2t and 2| extend inwardly toward the center of the shingle in a direction parallel. to

the lower edge I 2 and intersect the transverse edges at points near the edge I 2. These slits form locking flaps 25, at the lower corners of the shingle and terminate at their inner ends in short slits 23, 24 perpendicular thereto. 5

The transverse edges of the shingle also include an upper set of downwardly diverging portions 26, 27, and a lower set of downwardly divergingportions 28, 29 connected by inwardly extending edge portions 30, 3|. Edge portions 26, 28 and 30 cooperate to define locking notch 33 and downwardly extending locking member 35 on one side of the shingle and edge portions 21, 29 and 3| form locking notch 3t and downwardly extending locking member 36 on the other side of the shingle. It will be observed that the gradually diverging portions 28, 29 of the shingle edges define the lower sides of the locking notches 33, 34. The slope of edge portions 28, 29 is such that the inner ends of the locking slits 20, 2! of a shingle being laid may be engaged with the inner corners of the notches 33, 34 of two previously laid shingles without buckling or otherwise distorting the portion of the shingle body between the inner ends of slits 20, 2| as will be 25 more fully disclosed hereinafter. The opposite transverse edges of the shingles may be advantageously complemental in shape when reversed and laid end for end.

The shingles may be laid in wide-spaced relation in the manner shown in Fig. 3 to form a roof in which the slits of a shingle of one course are interlocked with the notches of shingles of an underlyingcourse. In Fig. 3, A and B represent previously laid shingles of a horizontal course, the shingles being so spaced that the distance between the inner corners of the notches 33 and 34 of adjacent shingles practically equals the distance between the inner ends of the slits 20, 2| of the same shingle. In laying shingle C its forward edge l2 may be inclined to the horizontal and the inner end of theslit 2| placed in locking engagement with the inner corner of notch 33 of shingle A, the locking flap 25 of shingle C underlying shingle A. Shingle C is then r0- tated counter-clockwise about the inner end of slit 2! and the inner corner of notch 33 as a center until the locking flap 25 passes beneath the transverse edge of shingle B. Continued rotation of shingle 0 causes the inner end of slit 2!) to engage the inner corner of locking notch 34 of shingle B. It will be observed that the slope of the edge portion 29 of the shingles is such that the are described by the inner end of silt -locking member 35 are similarly designed. This construction of the locking notches 33, 34 avoids the necessity of buckling or otherwise distorting theweather or other portion of the shingle being laid to lock it with adjacent underlying shingles which are nailed fast to the roof. Hence, liability of damage to the shingles and roof during laying is minimized and the speed with which a workman may lay the shingles is greatly increased. The short slits 23, 24 permit the inner corners of locking slits 20, 2| to snugly engage the inner corners of locking notches 33, 34 of underlying shingles without tearing the shingle bodies. If the shingles A and B of the underlying course are in proper alignment, it will be seen that when the walls of slits 24 and 23 are brought snugly against the apices of notches 33 and 34 respectively, the shingle C will be in its properly aligned position in the next overlying course.

In Fig. 4 there is shown a cutting diagram illustrating how the shingles may be out without waste from a roofing sheet. As hereinabove pointed out, the transverse edges of the shingles may advantageously be complemental when the shingles are reversed and laid end for end. In cutting the shingles a saturated coated and surfaced rooflng base may be divided into two or more strips by longitudinal cuts 31 and the strips severed into individual shingles by broken, staggered, transverse cuts 39. The slits 20, 2|, 23, 24 are preferably formed during the cutting operation by appropriately disposed knives on the cutting cylinder or other cutting mechanism employed. It will be noted that adjacent shingles of each longitudinal strip extend in opposite directions and that substantially no waste is involved in cutting the shingles.

Fig. 5 illustrates a modified form of shingle having parallelupper and lower edges 4|, 42 and parallel transverse edges 43, 44. Looking slits 20, 2| terminating in relatively short slits 23, 24 1 extend inwardly from the transverse edges in the neighborhood of the lower edges of the shingles and locking notches 46 are provided ad- ,iacent the mid-points of the transverse edges. The slope of the edges 41 of the notches is such that when shingle F is interlocked with two spaced underlying shingles D and E, the inner ends of slits 20, 2| of shingle F may be locked in engagement with the inner corners of the notches ot-the underlying shingles without buckling the shingle material.

Accordingly, it will be seen that we have provided a self-aligning shingle which may be rapidly and easily laid with other similar shingles in widespaced, securely interlocked relation without damage due to buckling or otherwise distorting the shingle body. The shingles may be out without substantial waste and hence afford an economical and effective roof.

Since changes may be made in the above shingle without departing from the scope of this invention, it is intended that the matter contained in the above description and shown on the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted in an illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

We claim:

1. A flexible shingle of the interlocking type adapted to be placed in wide-spaced relation with other like shingles, each shingle comprising a body portion having transverse edges andupper and lower edges, locking incisions ex ending from said transverse edges into said shingle body in the neighborhood of the lower edge thereof, said shinglebeing provided along its transverse edges with vertically elongated locking notches, each of said notches being defined by diverging edges extending at unequal angles to said transverse edges, the edge of each of said notches which extends at the smaller angle to the transverse edges being elongated, said smaller angle being an acute angle sufflciently small to permit the incisions of the shingle to be laid in locking engagement with the notches of a pair of like underlying elements without buckling the portion of the shingles to be exposed to the weather.

2. A flexible felt base shingle of the interlocking type adapted to be laid in wide-spaced relation with other similar shingles, said shingle comprising a body portion having upper and lower edges and transverse edges, locking slits extending inwardly from said transverse edges in the neighborhood of the lower edge, each of said transverse edges comprising two downwardly and outwardly sloping portions connected by an inwardly extending portion, said downwardly and outwardly sloping .portions and inwardly extending portions of the transverse edges forming locking notches adapted to interlock with looking slits of similar overlying shingles.

3. A flexible felt base shingle of the interlock.- ing type comprising a body of general rectangular shape having an upper edge, a lower edge to be exposed and transverse edges, a pair of locking incisions extending inwardly from the transverse edges adjacent the lower edge of the shingle, the transverse edges of the shingle comprising downwardly diverging lower portions terminating at their upper ends near the midpoints of the transverse edges, said transverse edges also comprising inwardly extending portions near the midpoints thereof, said downwardly diverging and inwardly extending edge portions cooperating to form a locking notch such that the slits of the shingle may be interlocked with the notches of previously laid shingles without distorting the weather portions of the shingle.

4. A flexible felt base shingle of the interlocking type comprising a body portion of general rectangular shape having an upper edge, a lower edge and transverse edges, a pair,of locking slits extending inwardly from the transverse edges adjacent the lower edge and terminating in short slits substantially perpendicular to said locking slits, said transverse edges including two downout buckling the portion of the shingle to be exposed.

5. A flexible felt base shingle of the interlocking type comprising a body of general rectangular form having substantially parallel upper and lower edges and substantially parallel transverse edges, locking slits extending substantially perpendicularly inwardly from the transverse edges near said forward edge, said transverse edges being provided in the neighborhood of their midpoints with triangular locking notches having dow wa d y diverging edges extending at an 5 notches of two underlying shingles without buckling the portion of the shingle to be exposed.

6. A flexible shingle of the interlocking type comprising a body portion provided with interlocking slits and a pair of interlocking notches 10' in the side edges of said body portion, said notches having inner and outeredges, the inner edge of each of said notches ei-i't'e'nding at an angle to the side edges of said shingle permitting the interlocking slits of the shingle to be interlocked with 15 the. notches of two spaced similar shingles with out bending the portion of the shingle to be exposed.

7. A flexible interlocking shingle comprising a body portion or general rectangular shape hav ing upper and lower edges of substantially equal length and transverse edges spaced substantially the same distance apart at/the upper and lower edges, a pair of locking incisions extending inwardly from the transverse edges of the shingle in the neighborhood of the lower edge thereof and a pair of locking notches extending into the transverse edges above the locking incisions, each of said locking notches being formed by the removal of sufllcient shingle material so that a locking incision of said shingle may be engaged with a lockingnotch of one of two spaced underlying shingles and said shingle moved about the inner end of said incision as a pivot to interlock the other incision with a locking notch of said other underlying shingle without buckling the shingle material. 

